Brandon Gee

Stories by Brandon

The committee that hopes to bring the city of Steamboat Springs' annexation of Steamboat 700 to referendum submitted its first collection of signatures Tuesday. City Clerk Julie Franklin confirmed Wednesday that the committee, known as Let's Vote, has submitted 14 petitions, which the group says contain more than 600 signatures.

Economic development, growth issues on council's priority list

Cari Hermacinski is making no secret of her aspirations to be the next president of the Steamboat Springs City Council.
Hermacinski won re-election Tuesday against former City Council President Kevin Bennett.
Kenny Reisman and Jim Engelken, who also is a former councilman, won their races and will be the only new members to join the body when it meets Tuesday for the first time since the election and begins to chart a course for the next two years.

Routt County's first election conducted exclusively with mail ballots isn't likely to be its last. That means an all-mail-ballot format may continue to be used in August primary and November odd-year elections in Routt County.

Walter Magill, a 39-year-old engineer and surveyor, will return to the Steamboat Springs City Council. Magill was first elected to the council in 2007 to finish a vacated term. Magill did not face an opponent in the District 3 race and will serve for four years. He received 2,293 votes.

Council president pro tem easily defeats Bennett

In what turned out to be the most lopsided race of the 2009 election, Cari Hermacinski defeated Kevin Bennett for a District 1 seat on the Steamboat Springs City Council. She won with 63.6 percent of the vote, 2,066 to 1,184.

Cari Hermacinski has retained her seat on the Steamboat Springs City Council. Joining her will be newcomer Kenny Reisman and former council member Jim Engelken. All three won their contested races Tuesday night. Brian Kelly won the contested Steamboat Springs School Board race.

Hermacinski's fundraising prowess continues in October

Coucilwoman Cari Hermacinski continued to raise money at a breakneck pace last month and reported about $8,500 in fundraising in her bid for re-election in the second of three campaign finance filings this election cycle.

Site at base area sits vacant as council tables redevelopment plans

From landscaping and a playground, to an ice skating rink and tethered balloon rides, there has been no shortage of ideas thrown out for using the site of the demolished Ski Time Square commercial area.

Fewer than 600 people younger than 45 have voted

Residents younger than 45 account for just one-fifth of the ballots cast in Routt County's 2009 election, even though about half of the county's registered voters are in that age group. The discrepancy has caused some to worry that the county's first election conducted exclusively with mail-in ballots may not be conducive to young voters.

United agrees to provide service with no revenue guarantees

Jets - once again - will be the sole carriers of Yampa Valley Regional Airport passengers flying United Express. But this time, the service will come without a six-figure price tag for the local business community. Mesa Air Group announced Thursday that it will terminate its operation of 10 Dash-8 turboprop airplanes.

Steamboat Springs teenager died Monday of unknown causes

Ryan Stewart Allen had a way of making people laugh. For teachers and classmates, it might be a speech assignment turned stand-up routine. For his girlfriend, he would break out into spontaneous dance. And his mother never learned that he might be hiding behind a door, waiting to jump out and startle her.

Undeliverable Routt County ballots don't just belong to transient and inactive voters. Some of the area's active, longtime residents - including one candidate for the Steamboat Springs City Council - also have experienced trouble getting their hands on a ballot with their name on it.

Development's project manager says signature drive was not a surprise

Don't expect to see any major campaign efforts promoting Steamboat 700 while a group of citizens tries to collect enough signatures to challenge the Steamboat Springs City Council's annexation of the development. "We've always known a petition was an option of the electorate, and we respect that," Danny Mulcahy said.

With gratitude for their steady jobs today as foremen at the Sidney Peak Ranch Equestrian Center, Ron and Victor Medina are leading an effort that has two large water troughs overflowing with rice, cereal, oatmeal, peanut butter, pasta and other groceries to be donated to the LIFT-UP of Routt County Food Bank.

A coordinated local effort is afoot to make Steamboat Springs a major cycling destination and promote a form of tourism that many locals might be more enthusiastic about, as well. Data and anecdotes from other mountain towns suggest the economic impact of such efforts could be substantial.

City's lease to hotel operator could force out tenants

As the city nears final approval of a lease agreement for the Iron Horse Inn, some say the former hotel is fulfilling its intended purpose of providing long-term affordable rentals and should not be operated as a nightly rental facility that would compete with local lodges. On Tuesday, the Steamboat Springs City Council preliminarily approved a three-year lease with Boulder-based New West Inns, owners of the Comfort Inn in Steamboat, to manage the Iron Horse Inn.

A development plan for the former site of Ski Time Square was tabled until January on Tuesday, largely because the Steamboat Springs City Council wants to see a plan for igniting the demolished commercial area between now and redevelopment.

Ski Time Square tabled; dispensary ordinance proceeds

The Steamboat Springs City Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday to approve a resolution allowing the city's industrial enterprise zone program to expire as scheduled at the end of this year. The program has given as many as 244 west Steamboat businesses exemptions on city sales and use taxes.

First step taken toward city vote on Steamboat 700 annexation

It looks as if the Steamboat Springs City Council - regardless of the outcome of the Nov. 3 election - will put Steamboat 700 to a citywide vote rather than repeal the annexation if petitioners gather enough signatures to trigger the city's referendum process.

Voters would be hard-pressed to say Councilwoman Cari Hermacinski hasn't kept her 2007 campaign promises. Hermacinski won the council seat after running a campaign focused on open and transparent government, fiscal responsibility, and repairing the city's relationship with Routt County and the Yampa Valley Housing Authority.

Possibility of referendum election still looms

The Steamboat Springs City Council voted 4-3 late Tuesday night to approve the annexation of Steamboat 700, a project that ultimately is expected to bring about 2,000 homes, 380,000 square feet of commercial space and 4,700 residents to the western edge of the city.

Voters should check mailboxes as soon as Wednesday

The Routt County Clerk and Recorder's Office is putting more than 13,000 ballots in the mail today, the same day the Steamboat Springs City Council is scheduled to take a vote on the most politically charged issue in recent memory.

Commissioners to consider pre-application Tuesday evening

Opponents of a proposed gravel pit south of Steamboat Springs have caught wind of the project they thought was dead in the water four years ago. The Routt County Board of Commissioners will review a pre-application for the Steamboat Sand and Gravel Mine and a subsequent land preservation subdivision Tuesday.

Spend some time with Kyle Pietras, and one thought comes to mind: This guy is so Steamboat. Pietras' concern about whether Steamboat will remain the type of place where people can create similar stories is one of his chief motivations in running for City Council.

Steamboat Christian Center drive aims to collect a ton of food

Steamboat Christian Center wants to collect a ton of food donations this month - literally. In an effort to provide a boost to LIFT-UP of Routt County's food bank during one of its busiest seasons, the church has set a goal of collecting 2,000 pounds in food donations in Colorado.

Trustees give preliminary OK to $4.9M 2010 budget

Thursday's Oak Creek Town Board meeting provided an early glimpse of some potential candidates for April's town election. Nikki Knoebel was chosen from a field of three applicants to replace former Trustee Dave Ege, who resigned last month for personal reasons.

More due later for general public

An initial shipment of 100 swine flu vaccines is due in Routt County today or Friday, but the shots will be reserved for priority groups such as health care providers with direct patient contact. H1N1 vaccines will become generally available in the coming weeks as the county receives more shipments.

Taxidermy costs remain unresolved in Nightwalker case

Kent Nightwalker will not serve jail time for shooting a bear in downtown Steamboat Springs - and he wants to keep the bear's remains if the Colorado Division of Wildlife insists on sticking him with a taxidermy bill.

City's conservative budget builds on this year's drastic reductions

Most city workers will continue to work just four days a week - and receive 90 percent of their pay - through next year under a proposed 2010 budget reviewed by the Steamboat Springs City Council at a daylong meeting Tuesday.

Findings estimate cars will nearly double on highway by 2035

The 13th Street bottleneck at the west entrance to downtown Steamboat Springs is left relatively unaddressed in required traffic improvements that would accompany the proposed Steamboat 700 annexation.

One word consistently pops up in conversations with or about Kenny Reisman: passion. Reisman will face longtime local Ken Solomon for the District 2 Steamboat Springs City Council seat in this year's election.

The proposed Steamboat 700 annexation - to differing degrees - split the candidates in all three contested races for the Steamboat Springs City Council at a Friday election forum. Steamboat 700 proposes 2,000 homes and 380,000 square feet of commercial space on 487 acres just west of city limits.

Voters will use only mail-in ballots for this year's election

Routt County Clerk and Recorder Kay Weinland wants voters to keep a number of dates in mind this election season - but Election Day itself isn't one of the most important. There will be no polls, no booths and no voting machines this year.

18 months after Pilot series, projects are struggling

Much has changed since April 2008, when the Steamboat Pilot &amp; Today's three-part series, "City Limits," examined annexations in other Colorado communities and how they related to Steamboat Springs' consideration of Steamboat 700.